Collision Accident Repair Advice & Guidance
So you’ve had a Collision Accident and are looking for advice and guidance on what repairs to do now and where to go? We all hope that we don’t have many accidents in our lifetime but sadly it happens to more of us than others. So what is your next step? On average we have a Collision Accident every 7 years but lets hope its much less than that. Firstly, make sure that you think of safety first and try to move your car if possible. Then gather as much information from the other party, names, address, phone number, insurance company name. Also take the make, model of both parties involved. Depending on how bad your accident was, depends on whether you would like to claim on your insurance policy.
Car accident damage before and after repair
COLLISION ACCIDENT REPAIR ADVICE AND GUIDANCE
Did you know that you have a right not to put it through your car insurance? If you put it through the car insurance you will pay your excess. Work out how much this excess is before calling the insurance company. Next years car insurance premium will increase by the full cost of all of the accident repairs on both vehicles (if it was your fault). A percentage will be added on to your premium to cover their costs. Going down this route could be very costly to you in the long run.
Things to take into account:
- Was the collision accident your fault?
- How bad is the damage?
- What is your policy excess?
- Does the other party have car insurance and do they wish to make a claim?
YOUR CONSUMER RIGHTS
Insurance Companies can be intimidating. So after speaking to them about your Collision Accident Repair, check out your rights. If you decide to go through your insurance company, you maybe told by your insurance company that you need to use the preferred repairers. This is not the case, you have lots of rights as a consumer and lots of people don’t know what these rights are. You have the right to use your own chosen repairer and this is covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Do not let your Insurance company tell you anything different! If they do try to tell you differently how your Collision Accident Repair will go, challenge them and explain what you know of your rights. The Insurance Act 2015 also states that before a contract has been made, the insurer has to make the consumer aware that the contract is fitting of what they have requested and if they want to force the consumer into using their preferred repairer (from which repair they make a hefty commission) that the consumer is told about this prior to the contract being formed. This should have no material detriment to the consumer. To say this after the contract has been formed is a breach of the act.
Car Collision Damage before and after repair
OUR ADVICE
Its good advice for you to double check that the Body shop that you wish to use are experts to complete the repair to the manufacturers standards and that they can complete your Collision Accident Repair .
We do recommend that you check out the Body Shop that you want to use, to ensure that they have the equipment and the qualified staff to repair your car to its pre-accident condition and repair it correctly to manufacturers standard.
NOW ITS TIME TO READ YOUR INSURANCE POLICY
Your Insurance Company will expect to make a profit on everything that they do. You will find that if you have your repairs done through your Insurance Company Approved Repairer they will fit parts that are Insurance Rated parts which are cheaper by half the price. Now who’s to say that they will react the same as an original manufacturer part would when involved in an accident?
If you use your own repairer, you will be given a choice of using Manufacturers brand new parts (higher cost) or Insurance Rated parts (middle cost) or second hand original parts (lower cost). But the difference is its your choice and your money that is being spent.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
If your insurer classes your vehicle as category D (which means total loss) and you realise that you love your car and don’t want it to be written off. You now have the right to request for it to be repaired if the repair costs are less than its market value. Always remember that this is your choice.
In these circumstances, your need to know what rights you have as a consumer. So when taking the step to get your car repaired you need to be aware of the following:
- Your right to check out and choose the body shop of your choice to carry out the repairs
- Your right for the vehicle to be repaired as to how it would have looked before the accident
- You only need to get one repair estimate and you have the law on your side to stick to that estimate
Car accident collision damage before and after repair
THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR COLLISION ACCIDENT REPAIR
Insurance Approved Body Repair shops are regulated and ruled by the Insurance Companies. They are screwed down to cheap rates. So you car will be repaired cheaply and too quickly. Do you think that the repair would be carried out to its fullest and professionally? Insurance Companies will have their Body Repair Shops nailed down to give them lots of discounts. As well as introduction fees, courtesy cars, crash audit costs. So you can imagine that the body shop ends up doing the minimum repair. This would be because they are running at a bare minimum profit on each job. After all they are in business to make a profit.
Your Insurance Company will cut corners to make sure that they make the biggest profit out of your car accident and you will pay for this profit. Don’t let your Insurance Company pressurize you into using their approved repairer. You have so much choice and rights on your side but they won’t tell you that!
LOOKING FOR A PROFESSIONAL COLLISION ACCIDENT REPAIR BODY SHOP?
Do your research on the internet, look at reviews on Google and Yell and other review sites.
Some Body Shops will liaise with your Insurance Company on your behalf and some don’t (as it takes their time)
Here at CPR Car Body Repairs Liverpool, we will give you a competitive quote, we will use manufacturer parts (if going through your Insurer) or if you decide to not go through your insurance policy (this protects your no claims bonus & your pocket) and you choose to do the repair privately then you will have the choice to use manufacturer parts (higher cost) or insurance rated parts (middle cost) or second hand parts (lower cost). Remember that the choice is totally yours and not your Insurers.
You are welcome to visit our website https://www.scuffsnscratches.co.uk/body-shop-repairs
or call our hotline 0151 909 3450 or you can jump straight onto our CPR Contact Us Website form
Our social media pages are as follows:
CR Car Body Repairs Liverpool Facebook page
CPR Car Body Repairs Liverpool Instagram page
You can also view our wonderful customer reviews:
We also have other information on this subject here on our blogs:
